Hydroelectric Estreito

In partnership with public authorities, Ceste has contributed to community development with urban infrastructure building work and the construction of schools and health centers. It also introduced a program for reconstructing the road and electricity transmission systems in the region affected.

The consortium concluded more than 280 construction jobs in the municipalities affected, including recomposition work, such as bridges, secondary roads, new stretches on federal, state and municipal highways and other works of art and social equipment located in areas affected by the development’s lake. These included items such as the building work that was agreed in partnership with town administrations, through the signing of Terms of Mutual Commitment (TCMs), the aim being to reinforce help to the population in the areas of health, education, public security and other sectors.

Ceste is committed to maintaining open communication with the community affected by the development. The Estreito Energy Consortium understands it is necessary to try and understand the concerns and expectations of the local population and to incorporate solutions for bringing about improvements in the quality of life of people.

An important social milestone was the agreement signed in 2010 between Ceste and the Ministry of Fishing and Aquaculture, for an amount of some R$ 5 million for setting up the Integrated Complex for the Distribution, Processing and Beneficiation of Fishing Production in the region of the development, the aim being to benefit the fishermen in the area affected by the power station.

Also at the beginning of 2010, the consortium continued with the second stage of the “Ceste Social Power Station” project that began in 2009. The project took citizenship, health, culture and leisure actions to the twelve municipalities directly affected by the undertaking. Developed through the Industry Social Service (Sesi), in a partnership with town administrations, “Ceste Social Power Station” recorded more than 500,000 acts of service in the 12 municipalities that benefited from the project.

Benefits for the population

Life in local communities improved following construction of the Estreito Hydropower Station. In the twelve municipalities located around the area of the reservoir and the power station programs were implemented for promoting environmental education, reallocating and supporting production activities, re-urbanization, the preservation and rescue of local archaeology and valuing cultural heritage. The health and welfare services infrastructure for the local population was also improved.

New leisure structures (beaches);

Improvements in local infrastructure;

Resources for Environmental Conservation Units;

Archaeological research;

Technical assistance for family farming;

Investment by entrepreneurs and government in regional growth;

Improvements in the quality of life of the local population.

Estreito Social investment (ISE)

In June 2008, Alcoa and the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) signed a social agreement for investing R$ 20 million in social projects in municipalities in the Estreito region. In the following year, the government received a commitment from other investors in Ceste to this social line (“Sub-credit C”). Bu the end of the agreement (June 2013), what is known as the Estreito Social Investment (ISE) should have invested approximately R$ 77 million in 117 social projects in 12 municipalities in the area of influence of the power station in the following strategic areas:

Planning and territorial organization;

Local public administration: improvements and modernization;

Human resources education and development;

Economic and social development;

Improvements in infrastructure.

Relocation of the population

To enable construction of the hydropower station and formation of its reservoir, houses, farms and land were acquired by the development. The Population Relocation Plan established the process for moving families to other locations, while respecting the relationships that communities have with the land and with their economic activities.

The Population Relocation Plan for the area affected was 100% concluded in 2010, with 95% of the cases being settled in a friendly way. In all, more than 3,000 properties were liberated and Ceste evaluated each case individually, including those of families who were not resident owners of the areas occupied. The beneficiaries were kept fully informed of the options offered by the Population Relocation Plan and could choose between acquisition, paid in cash, a rural or urban letter of credit for buying another property that beneficiaries could choose for themselves, rural or urban resettlement or an urban lot.